Contributed Photo/Courtesy Mike Rhodes: A monolith sits outside Rhodes Heating, Cooling, and Electrical in Downtown Safford.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Monoliths have been appearing all over the world since the initial discovery of one placed in a remote Utah desert, and now Safford can be added to that list.
A monolith appeared in Downtown Safford on the sidewalk in front of the Rhodes Heating, Cooling, and Electric building on 5th Avenue.
“I just walked out and there it was,” said owner Mike Rhodes.
He later advised that he constructed the monolith himself and put it in front of his business on a lark just for fun.
The structure is eight feet tall and has more than a hundred pounds at the bottom to keep it secure as it is not attached to the sidewalk.
The first monoliths that appeared in the U.S. have been claimed to be constructed by a small community of “stunt artists”, which appears to have been copied by others around the world.
Other copycat monoliths have appeared in other areas of the U.S., including one recently in a parking lot in San Diego that was quickly removed.
Safford City Manager John Cassella told the Gila Herald that he would have to look into it and probably confer with the city’s community development director to see whether the city would have any action.
“It probably would be something that our community development folks would look at and see if it’s violating any code or anything,” Cassella said.
